Register a private water supply

A private water supply is any water supply that is not provided by a water company such as Affinity Water, Anglian Water or Thames Water. The water may come from a spring, well, borehole, stream, lake or river.

If you own a private water supply you must register the supply with Buckinghamshire Council.

You also have a responsibility to make sure the water supply is wholesome and safe to drink under the Private Water Supply (PSW) Regulations (GOV.UK). The regulations help protect public health by making sure private water supplies meet the same standards as main water supplies.

To register your private water supply:

complete a new private water questionnaire [Word, 46 KB]
email the completed form to [email protected]

After you register

After you've registered a supply we may need to complete a risk assessment. This depends on:

the type of supply
the number of people served by the supply
the volume of water

You do not need a risk assessment if you are a single domestic 'dwelling'. But you can request one.

We also offer a sampling and analysis service. This will check for any contaminants and confirm if the treatment systems are working properly.

Assessment, sampling and analysis fees

Service	Fee (statutory maximum)	Details
Audit monitoring	£500	Additional parameters sampled. Cost variable according to test
Check monitoring	£100	Check monitoring to ensure that water complies with the standards
Sample from domestic supply (not single dwelling)	£25	Supply provides <10m3 /day or <50 people
Authorisation	£100	Application by the owner of a supply for permission to breach a standard temporarily whilst remedial work is carried out
Investigation	£100	In the event of test failure
Sampling visit	£100	Charge per visit
Risk assessment	£500	-

Private distribution systems

Private distribution systems are systems where water is supplied through a licensed water supplier but further distributed by a person other than a water undertaker or licensed water supplier.